I have my guitar (LTD MH-400 STB) for about 9 years now and I played it every day when I was young, but I've never cleaned it. I paused for about 5 years and now I saw how dirty it is and now and want to clean it.

Maybe you can help me how to do it. I only found instructions of how to clean it frequently when it's not THAT dirty. Anybody just wrote I could scratch the dirt off of the fretboard with a credit card.

I planned cleaning the Floyd Rose with air pressure and I already bought a cleaning set with lemon oil and stuff.

I've always just used a cloth and elbow grease, i have a couple microfiber cloths that came with guitars but for a fretboard i'm guessing just about anything that won't scratch it up will do

From google search, gibson website....

Clean your fretboard.

Even on a frequently played guitar, the fretboard really only needs to be cleaned once or twice a year. Thats because its important not to mess too much with the natural moisture the fretboard picks up from oils on your fingers.Begin cleaning your fretboard with a soft, damp cloth (an old T-shirt or sock will work) that you have wrung out as much as you possibly can; you dont want to see any drops of water on your fretboard. Work the cloth down the fretboard, making sure to use different portions of the cloth so that youre not just transferring dirt from one fret to another.

If your fretboard has accumulated some significant grime, you may need to follow your rag cleaning with a very light brushing with some extra fine #000 or #0000 steel wool. Please note that tiny steel wool particles can stick to the magnets in your pickups. Its best to cover up your pickups when cleaning with steel wool.

For spots that are particularly hard to get at, you can try using the edge of a credit card, a damp cotton swab, a pipe cleaner or a small toothbrush.

If you notice that your fretboard has dried out or developed hairline cracks, you may finish this process with Gibsons Luthiers Choice Fretboard Conditioner. Alternately, you can rub one or two drops of oil (mineral, almond or linseed oil) into the fretboard to condition it. Make sure to wipe off excess oil with a soft, dry rag.

I use the edge of a credit card to get the worst out of the way, and then a soft toothbrush. When it comes to the credit card, only go WITH the grain of the fretboard. Be gentle with the toothbrush too.

You need lighter fluid for your guitar body, neck, and fretboard. DON'T set it on fire. It eats grime and glue for breakfast without harming finishes, but it will dry out the rosewood a little so make sure you oil it back up after cleaning.

You may be able to salvage your hardware with some WD40 silicone lubricant spray, and I mean separate every single part, then scrub them individually with a toothbrush and some on Q-tips down the fulcrum height hole too.

Be careful as the corrosion may have swollen or even fused some parts together.

I would:
Take the strings of. Then take out the tremolo unit. For the fretboard I would just use a piece of cloth + the lemon oil. I find the lemon oil is pretty good at cleaning the fretboard as well as fretboard conditioner.
Regarding the tremolo unit, I would take it apart and clean every bit with some WD40 and a toothbrush. NOTE! Take pictures of the tremolo unit and try and remember where what goes. It can be a little confusing to put back together. Also work on a large table where stuff does not get away. Dropping one of the tiny bits on the floor and spending 3 hours looking for it is a pain (talking from experience)!

Hey thank you all so far for the help. I already took out the Trem (wanna put a Tremol-No in it, already having trouble with the screw holes in the body... -.-')

For now everything works fine. Already cleaned some parts of the trem and taped the fretboard to clean the frets a bit with steel wool.

The "plaque" on the fretboard (which is really thick and disgusting) bothers me the most. I started scratching it down with a credit card, but the dirt goes into the little gaps in the wood. Hope the lemon oil will kill it.

But now I know that the frets are really really used and the guitar is a set-neck so I guess it will be over soon.

The "plaque" on the fretboard (which is really thick and disgusting) bothers me the most. I started scratching it down with a credit card, but the dirt goes into the little gaps in the wood. Hope the lemon oil will kill it.

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I've always had great results with the lemon oil and scubbing it with soft toothbrush. The toothbrush will clean the pores in the wood very easily and will not scrath the fretboard.

I cleaned an old Ibanez rosewood fretboard really well before by using a razor blade to carefully scrape up the dirt all over the fretboard surface and up into the corners where the frets meet the wood, and followed that with a good rubbing with acetone, and finally polished it with steel wool and a treatment of lemon oil.

I wish I had gotten before and after pics though cause that was one of the cleanest and smoothest fretboards I had when the process was done. That was the kind of deep cleaning you really only do to a guitar a few times in its lifetime though.